Imagine getting a nasty cold the night before a major event. In the case of Leigh, she didn't have to imagine. Her outfit had been picked out, dry cleaned and hung up on her closet door; her hair had been freshly crimped, courtesy of her Gold N' Hot crimping iron, with feather clips of various colours laid out, ready for the attachment. Now it all seemed like a perfect fairytale, instead of tomorrow's reality.

As Leigh curled up on the couch in the living room, sipping on some hot, honey-filled lemon water, several thoughts raced across her fuzzy mind. First, she would miss the chance to see Kiran Jones play. She had been looking forward to it, and had promised herself she would congratulate him with a massive, passionate kiss on the lips right after the first song. She had envisioned something like the kiss between Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. Second, she wouldn't be able to show off her awesome outfit; a fabulous black spandex mini dress, a crop-top leather jacket, fingerless fishnet gloves, and layers upon layers of necklaces.

The Fates had decided to make her sick, thereby ruining her whole fantasy.

Leigh had decided to tell Carter of her misfortune at the last possible second. She wanted to wait it out, hoping it was just a twelve-hour spell, but alas, no such luck. So on Saturday afternoon she picked up the phone and dialed her best friend's number.

"How am I supposed to go through it on my own?" Carter said. "You were supposed to be my right-hand man... woman."

"You don't need me," said Leigh, even more depressed after hearing the strain in Carter's voice. "You're gonna do fine, and it's gonna be awesome."

"Why did you have to go and get sick?"

"Trust me, I'm more upset about this than you are. I don't even get to show off my cute new outfit."

"And that's another thing, you were supposed to help me get dressed."

"Why don't you come here instead? Bring some clothes, and you can try on some of my stuff as well.." It would certainly help lift Leigh's own spirits. Dressing someone up was an art form to Leigh. Carter was her blank canvas and the clothes were endless possibilities of colour. 

"Leigh, you're a lifesaver. I'll be there in an hour."

Exactly one hour later, because Carter had the uncanny ability to be precisely on-time for everything, the doorbell rang. Leigh rose from the couch, a thick blanket wrapped around her, and headed for the door. Her head felt heavy and her eyes begged her to go to sleep, though her heart wouldn't allow it. She was determined to help Carter get ready.

"Here, I brought you some chicken soup," said Carter after Leigh had swung the door open. "Your parents aren't home?"

"No. They had some company retreat thing. My mom wanted to stay home for me but I made her go."

"That was nice of you. I would've made her stay and cook for me," Carter said with a smile.

The two friends headed for Leigh's bedroom. "I've decided to let you wear the outfit I was supposed to wear."

"What? I told you, no pink tutus."

"It's not a pink tutu. It's a little black dress. Trust me, you'll look awesome. And don't worry, you can skip the leather jacket and fishnet gloves... and crimped hair."

"You know, you should really consider joining this decade."

"What for? It's so boring. Our generation needs a shake-up," Leigh exclaimed. She was proud of her style, and she wasn't going to change it for anyone. Though she knew Carter always meant it in a light, joking manner, the rest of the students at Newton High weren't always so understanding.

A little while later Carter was standing in front of Leigh's full-length mirror and examining the dress that was hugging her body. "I don't think I can pull this off."

"Don't be stupid. You look hot," Leigh assured her.

"Really? It's not too much? Or too little or whatever?" Carter asked while she kept on turning one way, then the other, then back again.

"Believe me, it's perfect. Aiden won't even look at Ashton Rhodes tonight, not with you there wearing that."

"Oh by the way, Aiden's going to pick me up here tonight. Is that okay?"

"No worries, I just won't go to the door. There's no way I'm letting anyone besides you see me like this."

~

When the doorbell rang, a strange kind of excitement ran through Carter. She hadn't experienced anxiety like this in years, and she wasn't sure how to handle it. The reflection staring back at her was a stranger; lips lined to perfection with nude lipstick, eyes framed slightly with the finest eyeliner, lashes dressed up with the blackest mascara, skin made flawless with what Carter could only assume was foundation. For a girl who hardly ever wore make-up, it was too much. The overall effect of it wasn't trashy at all, but for some reason that's exactly how Carter saw herself. Made-up trash. An illusion.

Then again, wasn't that was she wanted? For people to see her as something else? It was almost like Halloween; wearing a costume to a party, face painted to look like another character, pretending to be someone else for a night. Only in Carter's case, the charade would go on for much longer than just one night.

"Good luck," Leigh wished her. "I won't hug you because I don't want you getting sick."

"You've been touching my face all day. If I'm going to get sick, hugging me or not won't change anything."

 "Okay, okay, one quick hug and then I'm sending you off."

"Thanks, Fairy Godmother."

***

When Aiden saw Carter, he froze.

Why had he never noticed her before? Had he been so wrapped up in the world of Ashton Rhodes to notice someone as amazing as Carter? Probably. He had done what was expected of him. He had dated the most popular girl in school. Now it all seemed pointless, like he had wasted all his time on the mundane when he could have been with the extraordinary.

There was something alluring about Carter that he really liked. She seemed amusing and yet completely relaxed. He wanted to get to know her, not only date her because she was someone everyone else thought was suddenly worth a damn. Even now, as dolled up as she was, she gave off a carefree impression, like she would rather be at a sporting event than go to a house party.

"You... you look great," Aiden managed to say.

"Thanks, so do you. Leigh can't come. She's got a cold."

"That sucks," Aiden replied, secretly happy about it. Not that he wished sickness onto anyone, but now he could be alone with Carter.

"Yeah. Poor girl. I'll have to take some pictures for her."

They walked towards Aiden's car together, and all the while Aiden wondered what Carter thought of him. With Ashton he had always known exactly what she thought, since she had made it a point to scream her thoughts to him from the moment they had met. She had used him to up her own status, and he had used her to satisfy the masses. With Carter, it was a whole new world of personal interest, and Aiden had no idea what to do.

Was she the type to dive right into a relationship, no questions asked, sex on the third date? Or was she more reserved, the kind to make a guy work for it? Did she like playing games, or was she a no-bullshit, no-nonsense type of girl? Either way, she did fascinate him, and he wanted to find out everything about her.

"What?" said Carter suddenly.

"Huh?"

"You're staring at me. There isn't a stupid feather sticking out of my hair, is there? I told Leigh, no feathers," Carter explained. She then began running her fingers through her hair.

Aiden had to suppress an amused laugh. "There's nothing in your hair. It's perfect."

"Oh." A slight blush crept up on Carter's face, though she recovered quickly. "Well then stop staring, you're making me nervous."

"I make you nervous?"

"Maybe just a little," said Carter, averting her eyes.

"In a good way, right?"

"Oh my God, stop."

"Stop what?"

"Putting me on the spot. How am I supposed to answer that? Oh Aiden, you make me nervous in the most amazing way?" She was laughing. It wasn't a forced laugh.

"You can answer whatever way you like. "

"Fine then. In a good way."